‘Gallo Fiorentino’ or Master of the Campana Cassoni (Antonio di Jacopo Gallo), The Nativity, ca. 1510-1515, tempera on panel, 26.7 x 20.4”.
The Faith, Beauty, and Devotion: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Paintings art exhibition has brought thousands of guests from Florida and beyond to the Olga M. & Carlos A. Saladrigas Art Gallery at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. Additionally, visitors enjoyed the program series that included a VIP Dinner with Chef Bouza, Whiskey and Cigar Night, Italian Music Night, Family Night, Poetry Night, Italian Wine Tasting, and Miami Art Week extended hours. Faith, Beauty, and Devotion will close on Saturday, December 16th, from 7:30 – 9:30 pm. All are welcome and the Closing Reception is free. Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, 500 SW 127 Ave., Miami, FL 33184.
Faith, Beauty, and Devotion is a meticulously curated, visual journey through a period in history when most people were illiterate. Even with the development of the Gutenberg press, only a few had access to books. People relied heavily on art to help them understand history and, most importantly, doctrine in a time when religion was still an important part of daily life. Paintings made biblical lessons easily understood by ordinary people.
Ludovico Urbani, Annunciation and the Miracle of the Eucharist, ca. 1480, tempera on panel. This work was surely part of the predella of an altarpiece, i.e. one of the small, horizontal paintings below the altarpiece itself that “explained” to the faithful the story of a saint through hagiographic elements.
During the late Renaissance, the visual narratives took a dramatic turn. The Catholic Church adopted a stricter style of art in response to Martin Luther’s revolt against Rome. The roles of the Virgin Mary and Saints became central to this narrative, highlighting the theological differences between Catholicism and Protestantism visible in works such as The Immaculate Conception and The Annunciation of the Virgin.
Valerio Castello, The Virgin, God the Father, and a Carmelite Saint, ca. 1650 – 1655, oil on canvas, 48 x 39”. The composition is a perfect example of the finest Italian and International Baroque style, based on the dynamics of diagonal lines. The rhythm of the gestures, the proliferation of gazes, the drapery and the little angels flying about heighten the dynamism of the scene. Valerio expresses genius in the instinctive brushwork and the intensity of those reds and blues: master strokes in the rendering of a scene that is simultaneously lifelike and magical, real, and unreal, creating a dreamlike setting for the mystical vision.
Baroque characteristics, such as dynamic diagonals, dramatic compositions, and significant contrast between light and dark areas of the work, were applied to mythological themes in addition to religious subjects.
Attr. Giovanni Francesco Barbieri known as Guercino, Neptune with Trident, ca. 1630 -1640, oil on canvas, 52.4 x 44”. The three-quarter-view bust of the god and the impetuous gesture with which he brandishes his trident, catapult him beyond the two-dimensional surface of the painting, making him a concrete presence in the viewer’s space.
Jacopo Tintoretto, Portrait of Vincenzo Morosini, ca. 1580, oil on canvas, 46.4 x 39”. Among the most powerful and influential Venetian families, Vincenzo Morosini’s (Venice 1511-1588) could be defined as one of the richest and oldest. There are three known paintings by Jacopo Tintoretto depicting Morosini: one in the National Gallery in London (considered a sort of study model for the other two), the large one in the Palazzo Ducale in Venice on which his name and the date 1580 are written, and the altarpiece for the family chapel in the church of San Giorgio Maggiore in which he is depicted as a donor.
During the Baroque, religious figures are more natural and lifelike – a style championed by Caravaggio.
Circle of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Christ Healing the Sick, ca. 1610, oil on canvas, 76.5 x 57”. The subject suggests that the artist was among those most well-versed in works by Caravaggio and his closest followers, as Christ’s miraculous healings would seem to be very much in line with, for example, the Seven acts of mercy, or the gesture with the raised arm in the Calling of St Matthew.
Master Francesco, Madonna and Child with Saints, ca. 1390-1400 (tempera and gold on panel) is one of the oldest paintings at the “Faith, Beauty, and Devotion” exhibition.
The exhibition features thirty religious and secular paintings by Italian and Flemish Masters, including Titian, Jacopo Tintoretto, Circle of Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Francesco Botti, and Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio. The oldest work, Painted Cross by an Umbrian Master, dates back to 1295. From moderate size to more than 7’ tall or wide, the paintings (of which several are set in their original frame) demonstrate a timeline of mediums and styles typical to each period such as: tempera and gold leaf on panel, oil on panel, and oil on canvas; Florentine School, Venetian School, and Mannerism. Guests can also enjoy The Florence Experience – a virtual flight over the ‘Birthplace of the Renaissance’ via a floor-to-ceiling LED display.
Closing Reception: “Faith, Beauty, and Devotion: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Paintings”
Saturday, December 16th from 7:30 – 9:30 pm
Olga M. & Carlos A. Saladrigas Art Gallery
at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
500 SW 127 Ave.
Miami, FL 33184
Website: https://www.belenjesuit.org/exhibition
ssanjuan@belenjesuit.org
(786) 621-4624
About Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
The Society of Jesus is both a missionary and a teaching Roman Catholic religious order since Pope Paul III founded it at the request of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in 1540. The motto of the Society, “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,” indicates its goal to help all men and women to live according to Christ’s example of love and service. The Jesuits dedicated themselves to spreading the Gospel in mission lands and to the apostolate of education very early in their history.
The Jesuits founded Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in 1854 in Havana, Cuba. In 1961, when the new political regime confiscated Belen and all private schools, the school was re-established in Miami that same year and has grown over the last five decades. Currently, the enrollment is nearly 1,400 male students in grades 6 to 12 and over seven thousand alumni. The Ignatian Center for the Arts includes the 665-seat, state-of-the-art Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca Theater and the 3,200 square-foot Olga M. & Carlos A. Saladrigas Art Gallery. The Saladrigas Gallery displays several professionally curated exhibits annually, a young artists exhibit, a Belen community art show, and numerous other projects.
